


Project Red Vs Blue

by BitterChocolateStars



Series: Ms.Red's RvB Au Shorts [2]
Category: Red vs. Blue
Genre: Alternate Universe, BGC Freelancer Au, i'm not sure what else to tag, please tell me if i need to tag a thing
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-09-18
Updated: 2015-09-18
Packaged: 2018-04-21 08:31:14
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 7,265
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4822292
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/BitterChocolateStars/pseuds/BitterChocolateStars
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>What if The BGC had been Freelancers, instead of Sim Troopers?<br/>I rambled my way through the answer.</p>
<p>This ones pretty long. it was supposed to be part of Being a little purple, but like i said, it a little longer than usual.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Project Red Vs Blue

 

Life as a Freelancer was stressful at best, agonizing at worst. But they scraped by. Not the lowest ranking on the scoreboard. Not the highest either. With their squad leader Utah in at 29th and their lowest rank Hawaii in 34th. 

When they first got assigned together to be a unit it had been a chaotic mess. They each had someone they worked well with already. Hawaii and Kansas could communicate with unseen looks alone (Missouri was still positive they had a private com channel, there's no way Hawaii knew where to throw that grenade with just a vague tilt of Kansas's head). Utah and Alabama were a wild team, that somehow managed to get through their crazy plans and make it work. Missouri and New Hampshire balanced each others skill evenly, Hampshire built like a brick and Missouri light on his feet. When they'd started to work together the other units thought it would end in flames, or someone dead. To everyone's surprise, even their own, they managed to make it work. Quickly becoming a  tightknit  unit. Uncaring of the scoreboard that had many teams at each others throats. As long as they came home alive that's all they worried about. 

"I'm telling you, you can't create a bubble of air in space. I don't care what some show from the twenty first century said. Its impossible." Kansas rolled his eyes at the freelancer across from him. 

"Dude, I thought you of all people would be up for believing in that kind of stuff." Missouri said gesturing at him with a fry from his tray. 

"I might like those kinds of shows, but that doesn't mean I believe in fake tossed together science." Kansas scoffed. 

"Calm down, it was a valid question." Hawaii huffed. Chewing on a brownie he'd stolen from Kansas's plate while he'd been busy arguing with New Hampshire. 

"No It's Not!" Kansas screeched. Swatting Alabama's hand when he tried to copy Hawaii. Proving to the man that he'd been well aware Hawaii was stealing from his plate. 

"Simmer down boy's." Utah chuckled.  

 "There are several training missions and assignments today dudes." Their handler spoke. Starling the group of Freelancers. "What one would you like?" 

"We get to pick?" New Hampshire asked confused. Usually they were assigned one or the other without choice.  

"The Director gave me instructions to let you choose." The handler confirmed. "I would have waited until after your meal but these are time sensitive, gotta know now before they're assigned to another team comprende?"

"What's the training?" Utah asked. 

The handler glanced down at his datapad. " A crazy Hand to Hand with Agent Texas, amigo."  

The group blanched. Texas was a legend. Known for being unforgiving and ruthless even in training. They'd all heard about what happened to York. 

"The mission?" Kansas asks. 

"A simple extraction mission my man." 

"We'll take that one." Utah decided. Anything was better than having their behinds handed to them by that lion-woman. 

"Alrighty. Be ready in an hour dudes. I gotta go get that foxy pilot to give you a ride." Their handler nodded, turning and disappearing from the room. 

"God that guy is so weird." Kansas sighed . 

"You heard him men, get your rears in gear! We got us a mission." Utah grinned standing to dump his tray. 

* * *

Kansas tore into the wiring in the wall. Ignoring the  gun fire  behind him.   He fucking hated old fashioned locks. Numbers and code he could fight with easily. When he had to dig into actual wiring to figure out how to open the door next to them while men were firing at them, that's when shit got frustrating. God, someone just give him a holographic lock please. 

"Kansas!" Hawaii yelled. "You need to hurry up!" 

Kansas grit his teeth. Refraining from yelling back that he couldn't just pull the wiring out willy nilly or he'd risk sealing the team in. 

"Son, as much as i hate to agree with the idiot, he has a point!" Utah chimed in. "We're gonna be mince meat any second now!" 

"Anyone else want to come try this!?" Kansas snapped. "Someone who actually knows what they're doing!?" He looked pointedly at New Hampshire. The man had a gift when it came to machines. 

He merely shrugged at him. "It looks like you're having fun." 

"OH! I got one!" Alabama cried. Firing at the men closing in on them. 

"Fuck you!" The insurgent cried out in agony. 

"Aw don't be like that!" Alabama cried.  

"For the love of god, would you guys shut up!" Missouri yelled. "Kansas hurry the fuck up!"  

Kansas snarled, grabbing a fistful of wires and ripping them from the wall. Worst comes to worst they'll just have Hampshire tear the door off. The door behind them slid closed, sealing the insurgents off while the one Kansas was working on slid open revealing more men on the other side. 

"Aw Shit!" Missouri cursed. "We should have taken that Hand to Hand with Tex." 

"Come on don't be like that. This is fun!" New Hampshire laughed. Sprinting into the room with the startled soldiers. He slammed into the cluster of men sending them sprawling across the room in a chorus of metal on metal. 

The rest of the freelancers followed after him.  

It was a mess of bullets and screaming. But they managed to push through the room to their prize.  

 The Black Box. A detachable, pressurized room. Used to transfer high price cargo. And today it just so happened to be carrying their target. Something called the Sarcophagus. 

"Kansas, door." Utah ordered. 

Kansas began to work off the panel , ready for more agonizing minutes of cursing and frustration.  When  he hesitated. "Uh, sir. Its unlocked." He turned towards the others. "Should I open it?" Utah nodded. The others readied their guns. 

Kansas hit the panel and waited for the click of the lock. The door slid open revealing a man standing on the other side. Gun aimed at his face. 

"Oh shi-" He was tackled to the side moments before the man could open fire. 

Utah unloaded his shotgun into the man. "Get up you two!" He ordered the men on the floor. 

Hawaii picked himself up off of Kansas, pulling the other man to his feet. "Idiot." He grumbled. 

Kansas snorted. "Fatass, you nearly crushed me." 

"You ungrateful -" 

"EMPTY?!" Missouri screeched.  

Kansas and Hawaii flinched. Peeking into the room. The decidedly empty room.  

"Where's the target?" Kansas asked. 

"Yeah man, we had good Intel! What the fuck?!" Missouri complained. Tossing his arms up. "This is bullshit." 

"Not to interrupt your bitching," Hawaii chimed in. "But if the Sarcophagus isn't here then wouldn't that make this-" 

Something exploded overhead. Rocking the ship. Sending them to the floor. 

"Trap!" Alabama screamed as another explosion rocked them. 

"Shit, our exits blocked!" Hawaii swore as a metal frame crashed down on the other side of the room. 

"There's no other way out of this room!" Kansas helpfully informed them.   He started mentally going over the blueprints of the ship in his head. 

"Yes there is!" New Hampshire said, picking Hawaii and Kansas up by the back of their suits and tossing them into the room with the others. 

"Hey!" 

"What are you doing!?" Alabama cried. Running to the door. 

New Hampshire closed it in his face. He used the codes he'd studied up on before they got here to freeze the locking mechanism, trapping his friends inside.  

"Sorry guys!" He called through the door. He jogged over to the hanger panel that would drop the box into open air. "This is gonna be a bumpy ride." He cursed the fact that the ship just had to be hovering over a city. Why couldn't they be in space, like normal fucking ships. 

"Kansas what's he doing!?" Missouri demanded. 

"The uh- The room detaches from the ship, so it can be dumped in space in the event of an emergency!" He stammered. 

"He's going to drop us on the city?!" Hawaii shrieked. 

"He can't! If we drop from this height we won't survive the fall! The moment we hit a  building  the room will crack and the pressure will shift and we'll be crushed by the room itself!" Kansas babbled frantically pulling at the door panel. 

"The fuck does that mean!?" Missouri yelled. 

"The room will implode!" Utah announced. 

 Hawaii pulled Kansas away from the panel. "Dude there's no point, you're just going to fuck it up." 

Kansas growled activating the com inside his helmet. "Ham, you need to listen to me. If we hit anything on the way down the room will implode." He stressed. "Do you copy?" 

"Loud and clear. Don't worry guys, I have an idea." New Hampshire said cheerily. "Hold on to your pants." 

New Hampshire opened a second channel. "Hey, 479er I'm gonna be dropping a black box I need it picked up. Think you can manage?" 

"You doubt me kid?" The woman laughed. "Be ready for a rough landing!" 

A hiss sounded in the room. The ship rocked. There was a sudden lurch. 

"Oh this is gonna suck." Hawaii groaned seconds before the room dropped. 

* * *

 

 

 

"How bad is it?" Utah asked quietly. 

" Well considering he survived a ship exploding around him and we had to dig him out of the rubble, how do you think he is ?"  Hawaii says. Kansas elbows him sharply. 

"Don't be an ass!" He hissed. Turning to look at their team leader he clears his throat. "They said, due to the trauma, and the metal plating   in his skull it's almost positive that he's going to have chronic migraines, as well as some memory loss..." He trailed off, unsure if he should continue. 

"Tell him the rest." Missouri ordered quietly. 

"There's a possibility he might have a form of vascular dementia, but we wont know until he wakes up." 

"What is that?" Alabama asks. 

"It's caused by lack of blood flow to the brain. Due to a seizure or a ruptured blood vessel."  

"He did this." Missouri hissed. Hands balled into fists in his lap. "He sent us knowing it was a trap. Just another one of his fucking experiments. Now New Hampshire's fucked. We weren't worth this. He shouldn't have-" 

"Stop!" Alabama snapped. " I don't want to talk about that right now." He turned and stomped out of the room.  

"Fuck." Hawaii sighed. Some days he felt the weight of his armor more than others. The corners of his  mouth  twitched when he felt Kansas's  head  rest against his shoulder. 

"He's alive." Utah said  quietly . "That's what matters right now." 

* * *

 

 

"You and Kansas have been assigned this mission." Their handler explained. Passing a datapad over. "This is a high profile target. You are to get in, and get out silently. You will have a team of four to accompany you on to the enemy ship. Do not get caught . You do not want to be interrogated by these dudes. Super bad is what I'm sayin', believe me." 

"What about the others?" Hawaii asked. 

"Agents Utah and Alabama are currently on an training run. Agent Missouri is on currently on a classified assignment, incognito at the moment. They can't join in on this mission." Their handler informed them in his usual weird way of talking. 

"This feels like a bad idea." Kansas muttered once they were on their way to locker room.   

"What do you mean?" Hawaii asked. 

Kansas bit his lip nervously. "Its just that, I don't feel comfortable going on this mission with a bunch of normal soldiers. What if we get them killed?" 

"We'll be fine." Hawaii reassured, resting his hand on Kansas's lower back. "This'll be easy. In and out before anyone notices us. It's what we're best at." 

\----- 

The bullets slammed into the door as Hawaii closed it. He pried the casing off the pad and tore the wiring out.  He may not be as skillful as New Hampshire had been, but he was better and faster at disabling lock pads than Kansas. 

"That's not going to hold them for long." He said to his friend.   

 He was hoping for Kansas to give him an idea, a way out of the room  he'd trapp ed them in. On the fly plan, and stealth were Hawaii's skill set. While usually the real planning,  and machines were Kansas's thing. It's what made them a solid team. Why they worked so well together. Hawaii had the imagination while Kansas had the brains to pull them off. That's why  they were here. Why they were part of Project Freelancer despite their test scores. Because they had potential.   

Silence. He turned to look at Kansas and sighed. The man was still where Hawaii had left him when he dragged him into the room. On the floor, propped up against the wall farthest from the door.   

"Kansas answer me." Hawaii pleaded over the sound of ammunition peppering the door.   

Hawaii walked over and pried his helmet off. Kansas was staring blankly at a spot on the floor. Tear tracks ran down his face. But he was breathing at that's what Hawaii had been concerned about. 

 The man had begun to shut down not long after Samson had been torn to shreds by that minigun. Had stopped babbling at him about alternate routes right around the time Tai had been sucked into space. Now he was here bleeding out inside his own armor. Arm  and leg  missing  on his left side from the explosion that took out Tai. 

It made Hawaii sick.  He couldn't bring himself to look down at the missing limbs. He knew the entire front  of his orange armor was covered in blood and couldn't bring himself to look down at that either. 

"Kansas we need to leave, I need an escape route." Hawaii snapped his fingers in front of the mans face. Still nothing. Fuck. He was getting desperate." Kansas answer me! That's an order!" He yelled. Surprisingly that  worked.   

Kansas's eyes flicked around the room. Eyes landing on the observation widow before flicking back to Hawaii . He tilted  his head to indicate the explosives in Hawaii's pocket. It almost seemed like he was on autopilot. Maybe he was, but Hawaii didn't have time to worry about that. As long as he stayed awake. 

"Right. Thanks asshole." Hawaii nodded, slipping the helmet back on Kansas's head. Making sure to check the tie s  on the bandages hes wrapped around the wounds.  He pulled out the small brick of explosives he carried for emergencies. He braced himself against Kansas's side and tossed the brick at the window.     

The window exploded outward, anything not attached to the floor, walls, or ceiling was immediately sucked into the void of space.   

"Lets go!" Hawaii lifted Kansas into his arms and tried not to think about how much less he seemed to weigh.     


They climbed from the window before the emergency shutters closed. Hawaii was thankful for their suits being able to withstand the vacuum of space as they plodded along slowly towards the back of the ship.   

Hawaii kept an eye on Kansas. It wouldn't do for the man to go comatose in the middle of a dangerous situation. Hawaii would just have to make sure to order him to stay awake.   

"-waii..." Kansas slurred. Hawaii hummed. Silently elated that Kansas was speaking, giving him some sign that he was awake." ...don't feel good."  

"Try not to throw up in your helmet. We're in space. You'll drown in your vomit." Hawaii babbled. Trying to take a guess at how much blood he's lost by now. "How shitty would it be to die that way?" How close was he to passing out? How close was he to never waking up?  

He shoved those thoughts away when he spotted the hanger. 

It was stupidly easy to steal a Pelican. The guards were still scrambling around looking for them on the other side of the ship. Hawaii shuffled Kansas quickly into the Pelican, strapping him into the copilot's seat.   

"Alright. How hard can this be?" He muttered, looking over the controls.   

The answer; flying was easy. Landing... Not so much.   

Their crash into the MOI's hanger was loud.    

He ended up being chewed out by another pilot, a woman who kept screaming about the damage he'd done to such a beautiful machine. Grounded from any further missions, and had his name moved down the scoreboard. He was in 35th place now. Not that he gave a shit. 

Kansas had been taken away to medical. By the time Hawaii caught up he was in surgery.  

"Its a shame." The councilor spoke softly. He stood next to Hawaii and stared out the observation window. 

"Yeah, what a shame we walked into another trap." Hawaii grit his teeth. "What's going to happen to him?"      


"Excuse me?" The councilor stiffened.   

"I know you're outfitting him with prosthetics. What's going to happen to him after that?" Hawaii gestured to Kansas."  He wont be able to go out on missions for a while. He'll need physical therapy first." 

"The Director has not made his decision yet." Price informed him. A lie. It was hard to spot on a man like Price, but the signs were there. Hawaii had just been fed a lie. 

"I'm not going to work without him as my partner."  Hawaii was very much aware of how childish that sounded. He didn't care. These people were up to something. He wouldn't let them drag Kansas into it. It had been him and Kansas as partners from the very beginning. Before they got assigned to the others. He planned for it to be partners till the end. 

"Agent Hawaii, you're aware that you still have the rest of your team?"   

"Are you aware that I don't give a shit councilor?" Hawaii shot back.   

"Don't do anything you'll regret later Agent." The councilor said vaguely before walking away. 

* * *

 

 

 

"How is he?" Missouri asked. Slipping into the room quietly. He'd gotten back from his mission an hour ago. Unable to seek Hawaii and Kansas out until he was debriefed. When he had first been told what happened he'd been terrified that  they  were about to tell him Kansas had died. All he'd been able to think about was how broken Hawaii would be if that were the case. But no, just some missing limbs and a medically induced coma.

"Still out." Hawaii answered. Gripping Kansas's hand tighter. Missouri chose not to comment on it. It wasn't the time or place to bring up their weird relationship. 

"What the hell happened out there?" He asked, flopping down in a second chair.  

"The mission was another fuckin trap. It went downhill pretty fast. Lost three of our men before we even got close to the target. God, they tore us apart man." Hawaii breathed. Running a hand through his already messy hair. 

"How'd that end up with him all..." He waved his hand at Kansas's unconscious body. The new metal plating in his arm and leg shining under the fluorescent lighting. 

"We ran into some asshole with a rocket launcher. You can see how that turned out." 

"The directors not going to like this." Missouri said lowly. 

"Fuck him!" Hawaii growled. "He's the least of my worries." 

"He still has us by the balls. You saw what he was planning to do to New Hampshire before we got him out." Missouri said harshly. "Now Kansas owes him a debt for the shiny limbs." 

Hawaii looked over at his friend. There was something bugging him. He knew so me thing.  He wouldn't have brought it up if he didn't. "Missouri spit it out." 

"There's a project, for enhancing AI integration by implanting a chip into someone's brain instead of our armor." He said slowly.  

"Are you trying to tell me they're planning to implant an AI into his head?" Hawaii demanded. His thoughts  turning to the top scores. How weird they'd gotten with theirs. How hostile and miserable they were now. 

"Not... exactly. It would be a blank AI." Missouri hesitated.  Almost like he was listening to something. "It would be programed to 'Enhance his reaction time and his thought  process'." He said, using air quotes. 

"They want to make him a mindless soldier." Hawaii stated flatly.  

Missouri nodded. "He would be like Rhode Island. You remember how he got all serious and weird after that accident with the gravity hammer? Then what he did to his unit? It's because they tested this on him first." 

Rhode Island had been taken into custody after he'd come back from a mission covered in his own teams blood. Hawaii remember what he'd told the councilor.  

'My team was inefficient, they had to be dealt with.'   

"I will fight every motherfucker in this place before I let them near him!" Hawaii growled. "There's no fucking way I'm letting them turn  Kansas into... Into that!"   

Missouri placed a hand on his shoulder. "I know. That's why I'm worried man. Some crazy shit is going on. The projects, the missions, the fucked up experiments he's running on us. How long until we don't have a choice for those new 'upgrades' the top scores are getting?" He hissed looking pointedly at Kansas. 

"What are you suggesting?" Hawaii asked slowly. 

"We can't do this for much longer. First New Hampshire. Now Kansas. Who's next Hawaii? You? Me? We're going to die here." Missouri bit his lip. "I have a son to take care of back home man. I'm his only family." 

"You want us to leave?" Hawaii hissed. "Do you know what the director would do if we defected?" 

"I know. Just...  You have a week to decide Hawaii, he's scheduled for an operation on Sunday."  Missouri sighed . Standing from his chair and leaving the room as quietly as he'd slipped in. 

* * *

 

 

He didn't have to wait that long to decide. Three days later things erupted into chaos. 

"Get Up!" Someone hissed in his ear. 

Hawaii snapped awake. Rolling off the bed and on to his feet. It took him a moment to recognize Missouri standing back against his door. Arms raised in peace. Hawaii blinked and lowered the gun in his hand. 

"What the fuck are you doing in here?" He demanded. Glancing at the clock. It was past midnight. 

"You need to go get Kansas from the infirmary while I wake the others!"  

"Why? What's happening?" He asked, rubbing sleep out of his eyes. 

"Its the top scores, something crazy's happening. There's gunfire, and I'm pretty sure I heard someone yelling for the tanks!" Missouri hissed. "There was something about traitors! We need to leave!" 

"How do you know this?" Hawaii asked as he pulled on his armor.   

Missouri shrugged. "I know a guy." 

The ship shook  before Hawaii could ask more questions, followed by the sound of faint explosions. 

"Right, meet me and Kansas in the hanger. Not the main one, the smaller one near the back of the ship." Hawaii ordered. He jogged from his room and down the halls. The sound of gunfire  reaching him as approached medical.  

Hawaii headed straight for the medical cabinet first, grabbing painkillers off the shelf and tucking them away. He figured they'd need them later. 

"What are you doing?" A stray medic demanded as he strode into the room.   

"Picking someone up, he has a flight." Hawaii rolled his eyes. He began to unhook Kansas from the machines.  

"You can't do that! The director gave orders! That patient isn't to leave!" The man squawked. "He's scheduled for-" 

"I don't give a shit!" Hawaii said  harshly. Cutting the man off.  Scooping Kansas up  and tucking him into his chest.  He was a little heavier than usual, thanks to the artificial limbs.  

"I'll call the guards!" The medic threatened as Hawaii neared the door. 

"They're a little busy." He deadpanned. He paused a moment spotting another freelancer passed out on a bed. "What's he in here for?" Hawaii asked. For as much of an asshole as he was, he didn't think it'd be right to leave a guy to this shit hole. 

"Mental health issues." The m edic  stated flatly.   He shifted slightly, biting his lip and glancing away.  A lie then.  Can't bullshit a  bullshitter . 

"Can he be woken up?" Hawaii asked. The  medic  shook his head. "Get him on a gurney. He's coming with me too." 

"I refuse." The  medic  scowled.  "I can't disobey orders." 

Hawaii snorted. "Look guy, we can argue, or you can get him on a gurney and help me. I mean you could stay and wait for whoever they're shooting at to come to you." Another explosion rocked the ship. "Running out of time."  

Thankfully the medic decided to take the stick out of his ass. Grabbing a nearby gurney and lifting the man on to it. 

Together they made their way quickly back towards the small hanger where he told the others to wait. 

"Wha's goin' on?" A quite voice spoke into his shoulder. He nearly dropped the man in his arms. 

"You awake?" He asked quietly. Kansas hummed. So no not really, but enough to notice they were moving. "So some crazy shit is happening. Missouri rounded up the others, we're leaving." He explained. 

"Directors gonna be mad." Kansas slurred. 

"The director can suck my dick." Hawaii stated. Grinning when Kansas give a tired  giggle . 

" Where're we gonna go?" Leave it to Kansas to ask the hard questions. 

"Away from here, that's about all we have planned I guess."  They round the corner and Alabama waves at them.  

"Who the fuck are they?" Missouri demanded. Scowling at the medic. 

"Passengers." Hawaii shrugged, moving past him to load Kansas into the pelican.  

"Strap in I guess." Missouri sighed.  Moving to help the man secure the gurney to the wall and floor. 

"Everyone ready?" Utah called.   

" All ready back here !" Alabama called back. 

"Alright ladies, buckle up !" Hawaii yelled from the cockpit. "Anyone grab Kansas's armor?"  

"Yep!" Alabama answered. He leaned over and patted the mans leg. "So no worries buddy. Also grabbed your favorite book!" He said proudly. 

Kansas smile blearily at him. "The best Bam."  

"Whoa-ho someone is definitely on the painkillers." Missouri chuckled as he strapped into the seat across from the gurney. 

"Alright everyone! Here we go!" 

* * *

 

 

Wash woke to the  unfamiliar. It took him less than a second to figure out he wasn't in medical. Wasn't on the Mother of Invention. 

He was on his feet and moving before his brain caught up with his action.  

He scanned the room and locked eyes with another person.  

The thin man with the metal arm opened his mouth to speak. "Uh..."  

Wash moved before he could get anything more out. Lashing out and pulling the man off the bed. The man yelped into Wash's hand after he was spun around and pinned to Wash's chest. 

"You're going to tell me where I am. If you try to alert anyone I will kill you." He threatened. "Do you understand?"  

The man whimpered and nodded. Wash removed his hand and waited. 

"The uh- we're at an old outpost." The man stammered. "On one of the outer Halos." 

"Why are we here and not on the MOI?" Where were the others? Where was Carolina? York? North? Maine? 

"I don't know. The others haven't explained it to me yet." The man answered, his voice shaking. Wash noticed the mans whole body was shaking.  

"What's wrong with you?" Wash demanded. He could understand shaking in terror, but this was something else. 

"My leg, I can't-" Too late the man dropped like a stone to the floor. His legs collapsing underneath him. He took Wash with him. Landing in a pile of pain and limbs. 

"Fuck!" The man hissed, shoving at Wash to get him off his leg. "Shit, get off!" 

Wash made an attempt to remove himself, it was obvious he was causing the man pain. He may have threatened to kill this guy but the man wasn't a very large threat to him. If anything Wash was the  only  threat in the room. Besides, he didn't think the 'others' would take kindly to him if he hurt their obviously already injured friend. 

Distracted as he was he didn't hear the voices drawing closer. 

"Are you sure it crashed?" 

"Missouri, its all over the news, there's no way it could be any other ship." 

"I'm just saying. How many of us do you think- uh..." 

"What the Fuck!"  

Wash froze. Turning his head to look at the two men that entered the room. 

A short round man, dark hair pulled back in a tight bun. The other even shorter, dreads cut short to brush against his shoulders , and shining aqua tattoos etched into his skin. Both staring at him with varying levels of shock, and onset rage. On top of their friend. Who was groaning in pain.  

Okay so it didn't look like a good picture. 

The rounder man pulled his gun, aiming to shoot Washington in the face. 

"Wait, Hawaii!" The man under him spoke up. " He's just confused." 

The man with the glowing tattoos moved forward cautiously. Hands out in front of him. "Hey man, we get it. It's confusing for us too but there's no need to take it out on the cripple." 

"Fuck you Missouri." The metal plated man sighed. 

"I don't think Hawaii would like that Kansas." Missouri chuckled. Kansas flipped him off. 

Missouri held out his hand for Wash to take. He hesitated for a second before taking it and letting himself be pulled off of Kansas. 

"So you guys are... Freelancers?" He asked cautiously. Hawaii still had a gun on him. 

"Were Freelancers." Missouri corrected. 

Wash gave him a funny look. "Are you traitors? Am I a hostage?" 

Hawaii snorted. "Oh man!" He laughed. "Fucking hostage situations are stupid." He said, sounding like he knew from experience. 

"Who are you people? Why am I here then?!"  Wash demanded. 

Missouri placed a hand on his shoulder. "Dude calm down. We were coming to get Kansas for a team meeting. Join us and you'll get your answer."  

Wash hesitated. Watching Hawaii help Kansas off the floor and into a wheelchair sitting nearby. "Alright." He decided. It's not like he had much of a choice anyway. 

"Great, come on." Missouri grinned. Leading Wash from the room. 

* * *

 

 

The main room held three other men. Two  d ressed  in armor, the third obviously a medic going by his purple suit and  medigun  attached to his hip. 

"Oh! He's awake!" The pink armored man announced as they walked into the room. He walked up to Wash and stuck his hand out. "I'm Alabama. Nice to meet you." 

Wash shook it distractedly. "Washington." He introduced. He stepped away from the man and moved farther into the room. 

The man in red armor scowled at him before turning his attention to Kansas being wheeled into the room. "Glad to see you up." He grinned. 

"Glad to be up sir." Kansas replied. Smiling as Hawaii pushed him over to the small window so he could get a view outside. 

"I told you it was shit." Hawaii chuckled when he saw the frown Kansas's face quickly adopted.  

"A box canyon?" Kansas grimaced. 

"Alright listen up everyone!" Missouri called out. Standing at the front of the room he shoved his hands in his pockets. "Some of you are wondering why we're here. So I'll explain. Two days ago the MOI was attacked by someone. Shit started to get crazy. Tanks were being rolled out. Like I said crazy. So when I heard all this shit going on I figured it was as good a time as any to get the hell out of there. So I rounded us up and we left." 

He paused looking from Wash to the medic. "Some of you... didn't exactly have a choice. Someone," He shot a look at Hawaii. "Decided to drag you into our shit out of the kindness of his heart. So now you're kinda stuck with us assholes for a while cause I just got word that the MOI crashed down on a nearby planet. And there hasn't been any word about survivors yet." He added the last part sadly. 

"I hope the director ate shit." Hawaii grumbles. Kansas grimaces but gives a slight nod. 

Wash cant help but agree. The echoes of Epsilons memories still whispering in his mind. "So you're trying to tell me that you all abandoned the MOI instead of staying to fight?" Wash asked slowly.  

"Dude," Missouri frowned. "They abandoned us first. Do even know the kind of experiments they were doing or were planning to do to us?" He asked. Gaze flickering over Kansas before he looked back at Wash. 

Oh how Wash wish he could say no. Wish he could erase those memories. "Yes." He said flatly. 

"Then why the fuck do you think we ran? We're not about to let that happen to one of us man." Missouri stated.  

"But the other Freelancers-" 

"Which ones? The ones with AI in their heads driving them crazy?" Wash abruptly realized Missouri knows who he is. Who exactly he was worried about. "I'm sure they made it out of the crash." Missouri added. "They were the top scores after all. Best of the best." 

"How do you know so much about the experiments?" Kansas suddenly asks. 

Missouri stiffens. "Uh... Because... I...  I know a guy." 

"Bullshit. The only people you know are other freelancers. They don't have that kind of access into restricted files." Kansas says with a look that screams unimpressed. 

"Fuck." Missouri sighs, cursing Kansas's inability to leave things alone. "Alright, mystery over. Come out Church."  

"Who the fuck Is Church?" Hawaii asks. 

"I am." A synthesized voice announces. A faded blue hologram flickers into place over Tuckers shoulder. "Sup assholes." 

"What in gods good name is that?" Utah demands. 

"An AI." Missouri explains. 

_Alpha   _

**_ALPHA   _ **

The echo's of memory shout inside his head. He clutches at his temple. Willing the voice to be quiet. Willing the headache it brings to fade.   Now wasn't the time to make these people think he's insane.

When he looks back up he notices the others staring at him. Feels his face start to heat. "Headache." He says quickly. 

They nod, turning back to the AI. 

"So... What the fuck are you doing with Missouri?" Hawaii asks. 

Church sighs . "Well, I needed someone who would listen. Figured it'd be one of the guy's that didn't want to be there in the first place. One of the people the director had leverage over. You have no idea how long it took me to convince Tu- Missouri to get me out of there." 

"Probably because I had to bribe security with so much money dude. So Much." Missouri complained. "And then, I had to actually steal you, from under the directors nose. Do you know how many times I nearly crapped myself thinking that I was going to get caught?!" 

"But hey, it turned out fine." Church chuckled.  

"What are we gonna do now?" Alabama asked the group. "I mean, if someone did survive they'll be looking for us right? Cause we defected, and stole something really important." 

"Fuck!" Hawaii sighed. 

"Well boys, I guess we'll just have to fight our way out of this mess if it comes to it." Utah decided with a large grin. 

"Murder boner." Wash heard Hawaii whisper in Kansas's ear. 

"You guys made it all the way here without an actual plan?" Wash questioned. 

The group shrugged.  

"We've always just winged it." Kansas explained. He looked just as unimpressed as Wash felt at the thought.    


"Yeah, why stop tradition." Hawaii grinned. 

"Speaking of tradition." Missouri spoke up. "I got ahold of New Hampshire." 

Wash felt the shift in the atmosphere. Everyone looked startled. The mood took a turn for the serious. 

"How is he?" Utah asked. 

"Good, the memory thing is getting worse but he remembers us for the most part. His sister says he's been doing really well in therapy." 

"That's good." Alabama smiled sadly. "I'm glad he's doing well."  

The others nod in agreement. Wash has absolutely no idea what's happening. 

Missouri clears his throat. "Also... Apparently his names Caboose. Michael J. Caboose. His sister wanted us to stop calling him by his old call sign." 

"That's not what I expected. At all." Hawaii states. 

"We should too." Utah says. "We can't keep going by our call signs since technically we defected from the project." He coughs awkwardly. "Call me Sarge." 

"Just Sarge?" Hawaii asks. The older man nods. "Fuck alright. Names Grif." 

"Donut!" Alabama grins. 

"Simmons." Kansas says quietly. 

"Tucker." Missouri smirks. 

They look over at Wash and the medic. 

"DuFresne." The medic introduces. 

"That's too hard to say. So I'm just gonna call you Doc." Church decides. The others shrug. 

"Okay, but i don't think it'll stick." The medic frowned.

The turn to Wash. "I'll stick to Wash." He tells them. He has no reason to stop being called Washington.  

The group shrugs. They don't seem to bothered by any of this. How long had they been planning to leave? How long had the experiments been going on and driving them away from the program? Is the better question. Wash doesn't understand much of what's happening. Just knows that he's here now. With no way to leave. Despite Missouri... Tucker. Despite Tucker telling him he wasn't a hostage, Wash couldn't help but feel like one. He'd woken up surrounded by strangers and bad news. He'd have to study these people. Figure out their angle. What their weakness and strengths were. He'd find a way out of this. He had no choice. He needed to find his friends.  

"Uh-" Someone gagged. 

 Wash's head snapped up. Looking over at Kans- Simmons. He'd need to work on their names if he was going to be trapped with them for a while. 

"Kansas?" Grif frowned. Simmons had gone pale. Hands covering his mouth.  

"Sorry, I just got really dizzy." He muttered through his fingers. 

"Lets get you back into bed." Donut smiled gently. He moved Grif out of the way and wheeled Simmons back towards the room passing as the infirmary. 

"Fuck.  We should have found a doctor instead of coming here." Grif fretted. 

"Grif, he'll be fine." Tucker reassured him. But the look on his face screamed uncertainty. He turned to the medic. "You sure there's nothing you can do?" He asked. 

"I looked him over, but there's not much I can do without the proper equipment. A lot of his problems are internal. I'm sorry." The medic said. Directing the last part to  Grif. The other man glared at him "I'll go make sure he's okay." Doc hurried from the room nervously. 

"You can't be hard on him, son. He's right, there ain't much we can do without the proper equipment." Sarge said. Looking just as irritated and upset as Grif. 

"What happened to him?" Wash couldn't help but ask. 

Grif's jaw tightened. Hands curling into fists at his side. He looked ready to start shouting. Thankfully it was Tucker that answered. 

"Him and Grif  were sent out on a mission. It was supposed to be simple, but well you know how the director is. Can't pass up the chance to experiment on us." He chuckled darkly. He moved to take a seat at the small table near in the corner of the room. "It was a trap. An experiment to see if they could keep it together under pressure. We just lost one of our own recently, Caboose.   Kansas- er...  Simmons has always been  highstrung -" 

"No."  Grif interrupted. "No. He was terrified before we even left that we would get those soldiers killed. Afraid it would be like New Hampshire all over again. And it was. Only worse. Because we watched them die." He turned from the window. "You ever see a man literally torn to pieces in front of you?" He asked. "Or maybe sucked into the vacuum of space without a helmet? Or how about a door cutting them in half?" 

His voice dropped dangerously low. "Have you had to watch your best friend be blown to pieces, trying to save someone's life? Had to stop him from bleeding out on you while bullets slam into the wall inches from your face. And the whole time he's begging you to make the pain stop?" Grif paused, taking a moment to get himself under control. " It was more than an experiment. It was torture." He hissed. 

The room was silent. The two remaining members of his unit staring dumbfounded. They'd never seen the usually laid back man get so worked up. 

Wash felt his heart squeeze in sympathy. Remembered how awful it had been watching Maine bleed all over the gurney. Unable to help him. He couldn't imagine having actually been there. Not like Carolina had been. To witness something so awful happen to someone he cared so deeply about. It was obvious Grif and Simmons cared for each other a lot more than they let on.  

"It's not just that though." Church spoke up. "It's the cybernetics. I'm not sure what all the director did to him in surgery, but he had been scheduled for an operation that would implant a single function AI into his brain."  

Wash felt nausea roll in his stomach. "Like Delta or Theta?" or Epsilon. 

"No." Church shook his head. "These AI aren't based off a real person, they were created from scratch. Programs built to operate as the perfect soldiers." 

"Brainwashing?" Sarge asked. 

"In a way. Yes." Church sighed a quiet artificial sigh. "I tried telling them it wouldn't work. Look what happened to Rhode Island. The guy went nuts. That just made them try harder. You're lucky you all got out of there in time." 

Wash scrubbed at his face. This was too much. Too much to take in at once. He needed to sit down somewhere quiet and just think about this. 

"Well he's sleeping again." Donut announced as he walked back into the room.  "Poor guy. I hope he feels better soon." The peppy man sighs sadly. 

"I'm going to go take a nap." Grif mutters, slipping out of the room. The others knew he was going off to slip into Simmons bed. 

"What did I miss?" Donut asks as he watched Grif leave. 

"Grif finally declaring his love for our resident nerd." Tucker joked. 

"What? Did he really?!" Donut demanded. "I wanted to see it! That's not fair!" The man pouted. 

Good god, it was like being slapped in the face. The atmosphere in the room changing so fast it nearly gave Wash whiplash. 

"I'm going to go look around." He muttered as he turned from their pointless bickering. These people were crazier than he was.

 

**Author's Note:**

> so i might add more to this in the future. if i write more.  
> \-----
> 
> So some au things:
> 
> Some Freelancers are trapped in the project due to 'blackmail' or 'levrage' being held over them.
> 
> in tuckers case it's Junior. No one but the director and price knows that Junior isn't completely human. They found him and Junior hiding in an old desert temple. They use that to keep Tucker from leaving.
> 
> With Grif, it's his draft.
> 
> Caboose was a sparten.
> 
> Sarge is just a nutty old soldier.
> 
> Simmons overachieved and kissed ass right into the project.
> 
> \-------
> 
> Church had been plotting to leave in this au, as soon as he realized what the director was really doing.
> 
> So this au takes place with canon freelancer timeline. So while carolina and all them are getting their ai and fighting each other, the reds and blues are being equally as fucked over.
> 
> ** Feel Free To Use This AU


End file.
